Teamhope

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I am writing to share with you my personal experiences with Hope Fernicola while she was treating my son (age 2 ½ years at the time of treatment). My son has a diagnosis of Verbal Apraxia and Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I was led to Hope by my Neuro-developmental Pediatrician at Morristown Memorial Hospital. At that time, the Neuro-developmental Pediatrician recommended speech therapy with an emphasis on oral – motor and PROMPT therapy and encouraged me to contact TEAM HOPE.
Upon meeting Hope in a consultation, Hope truly listened to all my concerns and advised on how she could help from a speech therapy standpoint. She also informed me of other professionals that may help me put the pieces together in regards to specific issues I was seeing with my son. She seemed to take great interest in what the other professionals (i.e, sleep specialist, allergist, holistic RN, LPN) had to say about my son and often would keep up-to-date with me through emails. Thus, she was interested in the holistic picture of my son!
Overall, Hope is very knowledgeable and passionate about her field of expertise. She was constantly engaging in activities / continuing education courses to enhance her skills. Being a pediatric occupational therapist, I highly respect the degree of dedication that Hope has to her profession and the children she works with. From a professional standpoint, Hope was always extremely prompt to address matters that arose and would extent herself beyond my son’s treatment time to help me with matters regarding insurance coverage and dealing with my son’s public pre-school (pre-school disabled).
Hope always went above and beyond to customize her approach to meet my son’s needs when necessary. For example, she recognized that my son, due to sensory issues, had difficulty sitting and focusing to complete oral motor exercises. Thus, Hope recommended a speech and occupational therapy co-treatment which ended up being a very beneficial treatment approach for my son.
My son stopped going to Hope in August 2009. He had made nice gains with Hope and was starting speech therapy in his public pre-school disabled program. Thus, Hope provided me with a thorough discharge plan and suggestions for the school speech therapist. Although, my son stopped going to Hope, I often was able to contact Hope for professional opinions in regards to my son’s progress and his speech therapy program at school. Hope continues to respond to my concerns and questions to this very day. She has been an asset to have as a professional contact as I deal with my son’s journey.

My wish to anyone reading this letter, is that you find the therapy services that best fit your child’s specific needs. As a parent and a therapist, I want to share with you that there are a lot of therapists out there that are “just doing a job”. Be aware of this and assure that you find a therapist that has the knowledge, skill, and dedication like that of Hope Fernicola. I know the journey may be frustrating and confusing but finding the correct services for your child is worth it!
I hope that this letter helps you on your journey with your child.

TeamHope Speech and Pediatric Therapy Center (THS&PT) offers comprehensive, integrated, multidisciplinary evaluations and treatment services for children with autism, developmental disabilities, special needs, and learning disabilities. In addition to assessment and diagnoses, THS&PT provides individualized care plans for each child based on our Clinical Director’s extensive clinical experience with these populations. Her unique care plans may combine a variety of therapies, among them speech/language, feeding, myofunctional therapy, PROMPT, sensory integration, occupational therapy, physical therapy, play therapy, social thinking groups, verbal behavior, and ABA instruction. TeamHope has demonstrated a commitment to the ASD community with a reputation that is highly regarded among a variety of specialists that serve as a frequent referral source. This standard of excellence in care and treatment philosophy is grounded in the best practice guidelines that dictate that an appropriate intervention program should consider many different components to successfully treat the unique pattern of challenges and strengths of autistic children and their families. With a commitment to a developmentally based philosophy, THS&PT is adept at combining the best of both the developmental and behavioral approaches. As always, TeamHope maintains a dedicated, highly trained and specialized staff with expertise in their chosen fields. We are out of network and accept all insurances.
TeamHope provides therapeutic services to the pediatric population with a focus on Autism /PDD, Motor Speech Disorders, Fine and Gross Motor Delays, Sensory Disorders, Phonological/Articulation Disorders, Visual Perceptional Disorders, & Feeding Therapy including Vital Stim. Our academically based services address a range of Literacy and Learning Disabilities.
The TeamHope therapeutic approach is strongly influenced by developmental principles and the importance of the motor system to the acquisition of speech/language skills. The guiding principles of our feeding therapy incorporates a triad of components that address motor skills, sensory tolerance and behavioral responses. Our ability to think “out of the box” and integrate various methodologies is one of the strengths of the TeamHope therapeutic approach.
TeamHope strives to provide their families with a level of excellence that includes superior support in navigating clinical, academic, legal & financial issues.
TeamHope’s therapy is provided in a play based, child friendly environment at our center. Services are also available for home and school based settings. TeamHope has extensive experience treating pediatric, elementary and adolescent age children. We specialize in Early Intervention (0-3) and therapy is often appropriate for children younger then 18 months of age. Parents are encouraged to seek out qualified, licensed, clinical therapists when necessary to make these determinations.
In addition to providing private therapy, TeamHope is a vendor for the New Jersey Early Intervention System, and is also approved as a clinic/agency by the State Board of Education. Supplemental services for team evaluations, speech, occupational, physical therapy, home programming and ABA/AVB are also available.
The TeamHope staff consists of SLPs, OTs, PTs, BCBAs, Special Educators, Teachers of the Handicapped, Reading Specialists, LDTCs & Psychologists.
School Districts: TeamHope is available to provide you with supplemental services and home programming. TeamHope can also handle any insurance claims that may arise from service provisions.
Our comprehensive services include: